Cesya MaRae Cuono, Author: Excerpt! Honest Intentions (Safeguard #5) by Kennedy Layne @inkslingerpr @kennedyl

About HONEST INTENTIONS

USA Today Bestselling Author Kennedy Layne continues the Safeguard Series with this fast-paced romantic suspense novel that leads the SSI team on the trail of a serial killer who continually seems to be one step ahead…

Coen Flynn has always done the right thing, even it meant siding against his own family. His sense of justice was what led him to take a job in law enforcement, though his choice of agency was a bit unorthodox. His current assignment was believed to be a simple protection detail. He was never supposed to be identified by his charge, but a murder took priority and changed the course of his mission.

Brettany Lambert’s life is suddenly rocked when she finds the body of a dead friend on the eve of what was supposed to be a special wedding. Now Brettany and Coen are trapped in the middle of a blizzard and their attraction will fuel the heat of temptation. Good intentions always have a way of backfiring, but his desired intent won’t matter if a notorious serial killer can finish what he started.

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Excerpt

“Okay. Let’s taste these famous cupcakes.”

“Famous?” Brettany couldn’t stop the bubbling of her laugh, which had been his intention. “Where did you get that idea from? Only the kids in my class and my parents seem to think they’re something special.”

“Oh, I have my ways of knowing these things,” Coen baited, already knowing she’d taken a bite. She was too curious not to know where he’d gotten his information. “Remember, I’ve been monitoring you for over a month. It’s amazing what a person can learn about someone else even from afar.”

“The bakeoff,” Brettany guessed correctly after having tilted her head back and closing her eyes to try and recall what had happened in the past four weeks where he could have known her baking had received a few accolades. “Were you there?”

“Of course I was.” Coen bit into the chocolate cupcake, instantly giving his taste buds a bit of heaven. He savored the sweet, sugary treat before chasing it down with a gulp of orange juice. This combination of breakfast had easily risen to the top of his favorites. “Where is your blue ribbon, anyway?”

“How could I not have seen you?” Brettany had totally ignored his question as she stepped forward and leaned her elbows on the counter in astonishment. Coen had taken a seat on one of the stools, his concentration taken up by the second half of his cupcake. “It was a school function to raise money for the afterschool programs.”

“I can blend in a crowd with the best of them. It’s almost like I’ve done this before.”

Coen licked his fingers and wiggled his eyebrows in triumph.

“This is so not fair,” Brettany complained, pushing against the counter with her palms. She threw an agitated look over her shoulder as she went about making her tea. “Who is Sawyer, by the way?”

Her question made Coen realize that she’d heard the majority of his conversation. He shrugged, figuring talking about his team was a hell of a lot safer than some of the topics they’d been covering.

“Sawyer Madison is one of my fellow teammates.” Coen decided one cupcake wasn’t enough, so he chose another and got to work on the paper baking cup. “Brody Novak is our technical guru, while Sawyer, Keane Sanderson, Royce Haverton, and myself round out the field agents. They’re mostly a good group of guys, though right now everyone is under quite a bit of stress.”

“What is it they want you to do while you’re waiting for the storm to pass?”

“Read through some old articles where the journalists interviewed Moss to see if he let something slip that could help us pinpoint his base of operations.”

Coen caught her glancing at his phone, most likely to see what the charge had grown to since she’d plugged it into one of the only working outlets. It reminded him that the rental house would be cold, have no electricity, and he’d be without decent food—including chocolate cupcakes, to be exact.

“Need some help with that?” Brettany asked quietly, her green eyes imploring him to take her up on her offer. He should say no. He should tell her goodbye and then go put on his boots and jacket. “I’m pretty good at reading papers and catching oddities that would escape a novice’s critical eye.”

Coen finished the second cupcake before draining the rest of his orange juice, giving himself more than enough time to talk some sense into his hard head. For some reason, all he could come up with was that it couldn’t hurt to give them something to occupy their time.

“Yeah,” Coen replied, already regretting his answer. He should have done the smart thing and walked out her front door. “I could use your help, Brettany.”